Chapter 1018: Wolves, Experiments, and a Feast Shared

When Zhang Song handed the underwater robot to Xia Qing, he noticed she was in good spirits and took the chance to ask, “Any news about Little Monkey lately, Sister Qing?”

Xia Qing replied calmly, “I ran into him when I flew north with the Azure Dragon Squad helicopter on patrol. Brought him back. Brother Song, you’re free the day after tomorrow morning if you want to come by and see for yourself.”

“I’m free! Thanks, Sister Qing…”

Zhang Song was so excited he took a step forward, only to bump into a box of equipment.

Xia Qing jumped to steady him, worried he might smash the device.

The Hui One Special Forces had already withdrawn from Territory Seven. Now, the two remaining teams just handled security, protecting territory and people. They no longer monitored or restricted Zhang San’s movements.

Still, whenever Xia Qing entered Territory Seven, she had to clear security to make sure she wasn’t bringing in anything dangerous. But when she left, nobody checked what she took out. Once outside, the Special Forces lost all authority over her luggage.

Xia Qing loaded two equipment cases into her car, took the packed meals Da Ya made for her, and headed home. On the drive back, she couldn’t help humming a cheerful tune.

Da Ya hadn’t just packed soup for her—there were side dishes and staples, too. Tonight she wouldn’t need to cook her own dinner!

Feeling great, Xia Qing drove back into her yard. She spotted a light on in the west-side room on the second floor and knew at once that Crippled Wolf had arrived.

That room was their shared laboratory—a space for both the human and the wolf to work.

She headed upstairs. There was Crippled Wolf, standing by the CT unit display, seriously studying the scans. Xia Qing paused in silence.

Had Crippled Wolf really chosen the wrong path?

Crippled Wolf had already heard Xia Qing come home. He cocked his head at the display, gesturing for her to join him in studying the images.

A wolf learning medicine could help spot any anomalies in the Evolved Forest and warn humans in time. It was good for both wolves and people—not exactly a bad direction after all.

Xia Qing came closer to examine the skeleton on screen. “The cervical and scapular bones on this evolved rabbit are both broken. Did you bite it?”

Crippled Wolf bared his little sharp fangs at Xia Qing, confirming her guess, then pointed at the rabbit’s abdomen.

Xia Qing adjusted the scan, peering carefully. She couldn’t spot anything, so she began talking with Crippled Wolf. “You suspect there are parasites in this rabbit’s belly?”

Crippled Wolf bared his fangs again.

Xia Qing pulled a textbook off the shelf, flipped to the relevant page, and read aloud for the wolf, “CT scans can show pathological changes caused by parasites and have some diagnostic value. But when it comes to directly detecting parasites in the intestines, it’s not a reliable method, because…”

After reading, Xia Qing discussed the issue. “To check for parasites, we need stool and blood tests. Our Evolution Element Detector can only analyze the composition of materials. It can’t pick up parasites.”

Crippled Wolf seemed thoughtful for a few seconds, then seeing Xia Qing still stumped, trotted downstairs, dug out the territory map from a drawer, clamped it in his jaws, and hauled it upstairs before slapping a big paw right on Territory Seven.

Xia Qing was speechless.

“You’re saying we should send the stool and blood samples to Territory Seven and ask Third Brother to do the tests?”

Crippled Wolf flashed his fangs again.

Xia Qing couldn’t help staring.

This wolf was definitely heading off the rails—bossing Third Brother around like he worked for him!

She looked at Crippled Wolf, who was all business, and asked seriously, “Is this testing really necessary?”

Crippled Wolf bared his fangs one more time.

“…Fine. But you know, if we use Third Brother’s equipment for sample testing, there’s a fee. You’ll have to pay him twenty Green Lantern Pecans.” Once they’d agreed on payment, Xia Qing took a stool sample from the rabbit and contacted Idol.

Why not draw blood? The rabbit had been dead too long—its blood had already clotted.

After handing the samples off to Zheng Chen at the Northern Gate, Xia Qing also picked up food for Old Goat and Goofball. Back home, she prepared meals for her three companions. Only then did she unpack Da Ya’s insulated container and get ready to eat.

A full table: tomato-braised beef brisket, poached chicken, stir-fried celtuce, a platter of cold dishes, pork ribs, bamboo shoots and kelp soup with dried shrimp, and four steaming-hot mantou.

All this was Da Ya’s thank-you gift for Xia Qing looking out for Zhang San while he was out and about.

Talk about heartfelt!

Maybe it was the unusual flavors tonight, but Old Goat and Goofball went off their feed. Even Little Fei Mao, poking his little head out from the wooden nest in the wall, was tempted.

“This is food from Third Brother’s territory. Smells great, doesn’t it?”

Not wanting to eat alone, Xia Qing broke off a bit of mantou and put it in Old Goat’s food bowl. “Mantou is a starchy food, Old Goat. Eat too much and your stomach won’t feel great, so just have a taste.”

Old Goat sniffed it, took a bite, and went back to his meal with no change of expression. Apparently mantou wasn’t his thing.

Then, she broke off an equal piece and handed it to Little Monkey, who sat at the same table as Old Goat. “Goofball, you try it too. This mantou’s way better than mine.”

Goofball liked it a lot. He grabbed the bun and scarfed it down in no time.

Xia Qing gave Little Fei Mao a taste, too. “Here, Fei Mao, try some. You don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it.”

Little Fei Mao held the mantou in his little paws, sniffed it, and began to nibble.

Xia Qing stepped out to the yard and dropped a bit of mantou into Number Four’s bowl. “Try it, Number Four. There’s no salt or additives in this, so no harm in tasting some.”

Number Four only sniffed it, not interested, and went back to his freeze-dried food.

If they didn’t like it, no problem. Xia Qing fished the mantou out and brought it back inside, giving it to Goofball Monkey instead.

Crippled Wolf was busy studying upstairs and clearly wasn’t drawn by the smell of food—otherwise, he’d be down here already.

Xia Qing put away the tomato-braised beef brisket and two mantou in the fridge. The rest she polished off herself.

Slumped in her chair, Xia Qing really wanted to call Idol and ask if she could cash in some credits to join the mess in Territory Seven.

When it came to cooking, Territory Seven’s Chef Ge could cook circles around Er Yong and even six of her!

The samples sent to Territory Seven soon had results. That rabbit had been infected by Evolved Coccidia, a parasite targeting rabbit intestines and stomach, often causing severe diarrhea or death.

After telling Crippled Wolf the results, Xia Qing disposed of the rabbit carcass and turned her attention to the two machines she’d brought back from Territory Seven, one large and one small.

Crippled Wolf, who had been watching TV downstairs, heard some odd noises from upstairs and rushed up right away.

When he saw the big spherical gadget, nearly the size of his paw, not only could it roll everywhere, it could also stick out two little mechanical arms. The sight made Crippled Wolf’s eyes go wide.

He stood there for a few seconds, eyes full of thought.

Sensing exactly what he was imagining, Xia Qing cut him off immediately. “That belongs to Third Brother. We can’t trade for it—we can only borrow it when needed, then return it right after.”

Once she explained clearly what ‘borrowing’ meant, Xia Qing learned to operate both machines and put them safely back in the case. Crippled Wolf kept staring at the box for a long time before he finally left Section Three, heading back for Hill Fifty-Five.

The next morning, Xia Qing finished breakfast early and got ready to leave for Hill Fifty-Five. She noticed Goofball had put on his freshly washed little backpack and hat, crouching by the door waiting for her.

“Goofball, are you heading back to your own territory now?” Xia Qing asked.

Goofball opened his mouth and let out an “Ah.”

Xia Qing couldn’t help but smile.